2 year check-up

Benjamin has his 2 year check up yesterday and we learned he is a big boy. His height was in the 80th% and he grew a whopping 4-5 inches since his last well visit at 18months. He weight was good an normal and only gained a couple pounds but we couldnt tell since he grew so much. His speech is minimal for his age and we have to work with him on confidence. Overall Ben was right on target. Now if only his hair will grow in length and not thickness so we can cut it. ha I love my little baldy.

Christmas with the Cooks

Sounds like a show on the Food Network. Christmas this year was so much fun for us. Not only is Benjamin a year older but the holidays are more fun with a toddler. Every time Ben saw a present or gift bag he immediately thought it was for him......yes most of them were but not the point. Ben was so cute and did not care what he got.....he would rip open the gift and as soon as he saw what it was he would put it down and go get another one (even if it wasn't totally unwrapped). He was even given mommy her presents, watch her open it then go get her another one.

Santa brought Benjamin a big wheel type bike that is a 3-in-1. We have it as a rocker right now and at first he wasn't sure of it and now he gets on and goes to town. Ben got sooooooo many toys that he doesn't know where to start. A few of his favorites (for the moment) are his Backyardigans guitar from Uncle Jim and Aunt Vickie, a police car from Grams and Papa, the Mega Block car that he can actually take apart and put back together by himself from Nana and Pa. Oh and the animal crackers from Ty his dog.

Another favorite past time which Jeremy and I are glad to see end is the Hallmark snowmen. For the last 3 years (this year included) my aunt has given me the singing/dancing snowmen. I love this things but this year I actually can not wait to pack up. Benjamin however has taken a special liking to them as he can turn them on himself and dance along. I had to take a picture of him with all 3 of them on the couch and he plays all 3 at the same time to have "The Snowmen Concert". Cute but loud and long.

One last thing about this Christmas season......last night I got Ben to get up on the chair to take his picture in his Christmas pajamas and he posed and said "Cheese". It was too cute. Although then all day today every time he saw a camera he yelled C-H-E-E-S-E and kept wanting you to take his picture. Good grief he is a fast learner.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY BENJAMIN

Well it's official......I have a toddler in the terrible two's. HAHA Benjamin is 2 going on 5. He is becoming more independent by the day and wants to learn every second. I find that if I am doing a gesture or movement Ben is right there with me like a mirror. It is fascinating how children pick up on things and want to try everything we are doing. Still LOVES playing with his cars and pair them up to play with. However he gets the good ones every time while you get the not so nice one.


The first birthday party was actually a baptism/birthday party last week with family. We created a monster when Nana and Pa arrived with his presents from Indiana. Now every time he sees a present he thinks it is for him and wants to open them NOW!!!! After Christmas this child will not open a present for months.....at least not wrapped ones.


After Nana and Pa left Benjamin, mommy and daddy got bad colds that lead to sinus infections for the whole week. Benjamin's second party with his friends had to be cancelled as everyone was still sick......not to mention most of his friends were also sick with either a cold, flu or something. So we will be having a belated birthday party in January. Mommy did go get him a tiny cake and we had a very quiet birthday party. I still can not believe my baby is 2 years old. Seems like just yesterday that he came into this world. Thank goodness he was 10 days early because mommy was done carrying the peanut. Even with all the struggles we went though during labor I wouldn't change a thing. We love you peanut and cant wait to see what else you can teach us.


Talking is still coming slowly however what he is saying is becoming clearer every week. I wish everyone could see him in person as his personality is top notch. His party theme this year was Backyardigans and at one time loved only them.....now he still watches them but they have been replaced by others.

Visit from the Midwest

We always love when Nana and Pa come to visit however they NEVER stay long enough. Benjamin had a blast playing with them (and mommy liked the break). We all went on the Santa Train which was awesome. It is an actual train that takes a 40minute trip total. Benjamin had a blast on it and loved looking out the window at all the fun things. We even saw rein"deer" while on the train. He sat in Nana's lap most of the time and enjoyed listening to the carolers when they came through our car. We also got a visit from Santa while on the train and Benjamin wanted nothing to do with him. I cant wait to go next year.

Baptism

Finally we got Benjamin baptized. I dont know if anyone else has this problem where they live (I know in Indiana you dont) but finding a Catholic or Lutheran Church is like finding a needle in a haystack. They are few and far between around these parts. However if we were Baptists there is one on every block. Something to look into. We had the family over afterwards to celebrate the baptism and Benjamin's 2nd birthday. I figured it would be easier. Nana and Pa came from Indiana to join us in the celebration. There were 3 other children there as well getting baptized and Benjamin was the oldest (my fault). I gotta say though the suit that I bought for Jeff's wedding sure has gotten it's full use out of it.

Too Many Cookies

If I ever participate in another cookie exchange it will be NEVER. I baked 12 dozen sugar cookies. Only Ben and I will not be actually going since he is under the weather with a small cold. I thought I would love getting into the holiday season and bake cookies but nope it was just a hassle but at least the heat did not have to run today. I did make most of them from scratch and the rest were with the help of the store. My kitchen felt like a bakery gone wrong. God bless all you out there that make candy and cookies for the holidays. Good eats everyone.

Starting the Holiday Season

The first of 2 parades was this very very chilly morning. Benjamin and I dressed up like it was Alaska and went to watch the Warrenton Parade. We saw our neighbors the Perry's there and sat with them as we all enjoyed getting into the holiday spirit. Although I have to say that I do not recall any parade I have ever seen with cows, goats and tractors but hey when you live in the country that is what happens. Benjamin looked like the stay puff marshmallow man but at least he was warm (or as warm as you can in 29 degree weather). Next weekend is the Bealeton parade and we are lucky enough to watch that one from the comfort of our warm living room. Cheers.

The Perry's

Ben's favorite part

Awe doesnt he look warm

Christmas Ornaments

No matter how many times I move the ornaments on our tree up to the top the little one named Benjamin keeps bringing me them. However I did put all the non-breakable ones on the bottom. His favorite past time now is to take them off the tree and put them in his basket, carry them over to the stairs/gate and throw them up the stairs. All I have to say is......CAN I TAKE THE TREE DOWN YET?!?!?!?!?

What Thanksgiving Means to me

This year I am thankful for the blessings of my family and friends. I am blessed to be able to stay home with my awesome little peanut. I am thankful that my husband still has a job to provide for his family. I am thankful that our dog Ty was able to recover from his accident earlier this year and now is fully back to being a pain in the butt. I am thankful for my friends whom I had lost contact with over the years but was able to pick up right where we left off all those years ago like no time has passed. I am thankful that we have a roof over our heads. I am thankful to have been able to take the time to vote in my first presidential election after years of rebelling against it. (I'm still not in favor of politics but whatever.) I am thankful for the return of Jim and Vickie to the United States after being in Germany the last few years. I am thankful for my parents and Jeremy's parents as they have been a great deal of wisdom when I need it about raising my son.


Thank you to all our friends and family as we wish you happy eating and resting over this Thanksgiving holiday. Happy shopping to those brave enough to get out to those stores at the crack of dawn (I will be joining you.) Love you all!

Family Pictures

Another year has past for us to get the Cook family pictures taken. This year I was unsure how Benjamin was going to act since he is more toddler then baby. Ben did not do too bad but only on his terms. Our family picture went really well. I have to say this year went quicker then last year. As always look for your copies of the photos in the Christmas cards that will be going out early December. Here is a sneak preview........

TV can teach things

For those of you who have watched the Nick Jr show Blue's Clue you know that you have to find 3 paw prints for clues. Benjamin and I were watching this show yesterday and thought I would just ask Ben to find a clue. He went right up to the TV and pointed to the paw print. He's so smart. :) Then today while watching it I did not even have to ask, he just pointed them out as they played the game. On other shows when they count Ben lines up his toys and counts them along with the TV. The moral of this story is that people say the television doesn't teach our children.......I beg to differ.

23 Months

One month from today my baby turns 2. Again another month has pasted in Benjamin's life. This morning while we were playing he faked fell and said clear as the sky "I fall down." He then fell again and said it for the 2nd time. I was so happy. Ben has become such a big boy over the last few months that his daddy is shocked every evening to learn what Ben did that day. Benjamin can say apple, down, and everything is juice. I am so proud of my little peanut I could burst.

Santa arrived at the mall........

on November 7th!!!!!! Again that is too early however it does make it easier for me to get Benjamin's picture with Santa done and out of the way. We can also enjoy the picture longer through the holidays. The theme this year at the Fair Oaks Mall is the Polar Express based off the movie. Well this worked out awesome since Ben is loving trains right now. Daddy had today off so we got to drag him with us. We were of course the first ones in line with the mall opened at 10am. Ben had a blast in the snow globe where snow falls on you. I had to practically push him out of that area, then he went running and playing with all the decorations. Finally I picked him up and he saw Santa and started to cover his face acting shy. Then the fits began....I put Ben on Santa's lap and the screaming and crying started. This is the outcome. Out of 4 pictures this one was the best. Gotta love the pictures where the kid is crying....don't we have them of ourselves too? Look for your copy of this pictures in upcoming Christmas cards. Enjoy!!

Earlier and earlier

If you haven't noticed the Christmas singing in the stores and all the decoration already then you live under a rock. Around here the stores started putting up Christmas items the day after Halloween. Now to me that is tooooo early. What happened to Thanksgiving. I know the economy is rough and stores want people to buy for the holidays but come on. Pretty soon we will be trick or treating with Santa in August.

Too busy for me

I have found that little boys keep themselves very busy. This morning I was doing things in the kitchen and when I came back into the living room I found that Ben took many toys and put them onto the table. I had to take pictures as this was the first time he has tried this. Funny how the little mind of a boy will work.

This table is also one of his favorite places to sit......although he also tries to get us to sit next to him.

Party in my house

Benjamin loves his "house" that he got last Christmas from his Grams and Papa. Well now he loves it even more when mommy lets him hang out and "live" in it. If only he would actually take a nap in it then that would be even better. haha

Side note----whenever Ben wants to hide from mommy and daddy this is his first choice to run too and when he goes in it he slides in it like he's sliding into home base or something. Maybe he's practicing for playing baseball when he gets older.

Halloween----sorta

Mommy has had the flu the past couple days and trick or treat was the shortest in recorded history. Benjamin LOVED wearing his peanut costume and even today the day after Halloween he still is wearing it. Goes to show that kids will always surprise you. Daddy took Benjamin to a couple of the neighbors houses so mommy could take a couple pictures then head in. We did technically pass out candy.....we took it across the street so our neighbors could do it for us. :) Ben is still little for trick or treat so it was no big deal to him if we didnt really go out.

Pablo the pumpkin

Every year you get pumpkins and then decide whether or not you want to try to carve them. This year was no different......we only actually bought 3 however everywhere we went gave you a small one. Our neighbor (thanks Deanna) gave us a stencil for Pablo from The Backyardigans which is Benjamin's favorite character. Jeremy thought "I can do that." Last night he brought the pumpkin in from the cold, got the stencil and went to town. Ben and I watched while daddy worked hard to get it carved. Ben wanted to help however even with the "kid approved" tools he is still too little. Here is how it turned out with a candle in it. Not bad for never using stencils.